ONLY THE DEAD GO FREE: Author J.M. Ames adapted a song by my band, Transpose, into a short story

Today's interview is super special to me because author J.M. Ames takes over my page with a discussion about his short story, "Only the Dead Go Free," which is a rock-fiction adaptation of the song by the same name by my band Transpose (which appears on our album "A Delicate Impact"). His story appears in the anthology "A Haunting of Words" (which also includes my brand new short story, "Anesthetize or A Dream Played in Reverse on Piano Keys"):

Blurb: Wendy flees from her abusive boyfriend, daughter in tow, to her families’ cabin in the woods, only to discover what is already residing there is far worse. Based on the Transpose song of the same name.

What inspired you to write this story? The desire to write a disturbing tale about a haunting, coupled with the imagery captured by the lyrics of the song.

How long have you been writing? Professionally, since January 2016. As a hobby, as far back as I can remember.

What genres do you most associate with in your writing? I am definitely a multi-genre author. I don’t really stick to any of them exclusively. I usually try to evoke some kind of emotion, include something unusual\weird, and incorporate a twist. With that in mind, Fantasy (all kinds), Horror, and Sci-Fi probably make up about half of my work. Rock Fiction (stories based on songs or albums) are becoming a fairly common thing for me, too.

What are you working on right now? How much time you got? I have too many works in progress to go through here, so I will go through the ones I think you can see from me in 2017:-Not Yet Dark: War devastates a man’s life, and he goes to extremes to get revenge on those who’ve hurt him. Based on “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan-Fourteen Years: Nonfiction biography of my best friend of 38 years, and his struggle to return his life to normalcy after a horrific accident that left him heavily injured and another of our friends dead.-The River Sticks: An elderly man awakens in the middle of the night to discover his long-dead wife and poker buddies are back for one night only. Stakes are high, as he must now play for his own life. Somewhat inspired by (but not based on) Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.”-I have several other completed works I am actively marketing to various publishers.

What else do you have available/published? “The Last Ride,” which is available in the A Journey of Words anthology.

What advice do you give to new writers? Read, a lot. Write even more than that – never stop. Hire a good professional editor. Use Beta readers, but only make suggested changes that you agree with and make sense, or a large number of readers suggest. There are many paths to becoming an author, not just one – find your own path.

You can purchase A Haunting of Words (available in paperback and eBook) through the Scout Media online store at: www.scoutmediabooksmusic.com/a-haunting-of-words and get an exclusive companion soundtrack CD, or through Barnes & Nobles, Target, Books-a-Million, and Amazon.